Stevie Wonder’s new single, “Can We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart?,” reflects the legendary musician’s deeply-felt political and social concerns. Wonder has incorporated these concerns into his music at least since he was 16, when he had a top 10 hit on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Top Selling R&B Singles (as the chart was called then) with a cover version of Bob Dylan’s classic “Blowin’ in the Wind.”
Wonder has also written and introduced many songs of this nature, including “Higher Ground,” a 1973 smash that he sang at the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 21. He performed “All About the Love Again” at Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration. Two of his politically-charged songs were directed at Republican presidents who he felt weren’t representing all the people. “You Haven’t Done Nothin’” was a biting attack on President Nixon, released just days before Nixon was forced to resign in 1974 amid the Watergate scandal. Wonder’s 1987 single “Skeletons” was an equally pointed attack on President Reagan amid the Iran/Contra scandal.
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Wonder’s “Living for the City,” with its finely-detailed songwriting (“her clothes are old/but never are they dirty”) topped the R&B chart in 1973 and became his second Grammy winner for best R&B song. Wonder’s 1980 song “Happy Birthday” helped in the cause of turning Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday into a national holiday. (A catchy song can do more than a thousand speeches.) His 1982 teaming with Paul McCartney, “Ebony and Ivory,” is glossy and candy-coated, but the plea for brotherhood and racial harmony was heartfelt.
Here are 18 politically or socially-charged songs that Wonder has written and/or recorded. They are listed in alphabetical order by song title. Which is your favorite? Vote!